City May 16, 2009 3:13 PM

Urban Agriculture: Reap What You Sow

These days it's hard to find a neighborhood on the West Side that doesn't have some sort of gardening or farming initiative rooted. Whether it's a tree farm, garden cooperative, organic garden or anything else that revolves around the idea of reclamation through grassroots empowerment. Take this group of MAP, PUSH and Americorps workers that I ran across yesterday (near the corner of Brayton and Mass) - believe it or not, this urban farm has been around since 1998. Since that time, 50-60 youth a year learn the importance and practical applications of tilling, seeding, reaping and providing.

I spoke to Zoe Hollomon (left) about the program - she was quite insightful regarding the positive ripple effect demonstrated. "It's been proven," she began. "That many of the elderly people who eat our fruits, herbs and vegetables normally only have mostly access to convenience stores - the stores are too convenient. That means that they don't have access to cheap fresh foods. We don't make money on this - that's how we can compete with the convenient stores. We're also involved with the Farm to School initiative. We're working with six schools at this point to get quality local produce into the students' diets. Plus, now that the MAP greenhouse is complete, we can grow year 'round."

Last April I posted an article on MAP's efforts to construct a West Side greenhouse. At the time, project leader, Kevin Connors, told me that the last 5% of the project was going to be the hardest to complete. I'm glad to hear (and see, above) that the effort has paid off. I'm also happy to report that MAP obtained a grant allowing them to purchase a gigantic rainwater cistern. According to Kevin, they are starting hyrdoponics in the greenhouse - an even larger effort for an onsite Urban Farms Development Center is underway. I have to hand it to all of the groups involved with these West Side organic initiatives. I never thought that I would be backlogged with a list of urban farming posts...

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Neighborhood Radishes, Grapes... and Aquaponics? from Buffalo Rising on May 31, 2009 1:47 PM

I bet you never thought that you'd be able to pick up some tilapia harvested right on the West Side, did you? I sure didn't... until yesterday that is. Par for the course, as I was heading from Grant Street to Richmond Avenue, I came across a aquaponic... Read More

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BuffOx

May 17, 2009 3:35 PM

Is this the MAP garden? I remember when it was pretty much the only game in town - a great example that I'm glad other neighborhoods have followed

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QueenCity

May 17, 2009 4:04 PM

Everything old is new again. It used to be that living in the city people still had farm animals: horses for carriages, chicken and rabbits for protein, fish out of the lake and of course fruit tree and garden...even incredibly small urban lots had something.

Then cars replaced horses...people became wealthier and out went the animals....gardens stopped after WWII victory gardens and fruit trees sometime after that.

Eventually, everything got zoned so you couldnt have it again. Now...everyone wants to be Martha Steward and have designer chickens LOL!

Everyone should have a canopy tree in the front of their house, a flowering tree (or sweet cherry) by their porch and at the very least one or two fruit trees in their backyard. Hey if you dont want the fruit...give it to the local church, local mission or local farmers market.

Everyone should have a vegatable garden, their wonderful.

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Crisa

May 18, 2009 9:43 PM

Growing flowers and veggies hasn't ever stopped in this City or the suburbs!
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Tomatoes are easy and fun to watch grow, so each year, (dontchaknowit), people in Buffalo and its suburbs produce enough tomatoes to feed the world--so many in fact that we can't give them away--but this year, and with a much larger veggie garden than usual, we are thinking of selling our overstock or making an effort to find working-class families low on the food stamp chain who can use them.
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I love it that, however the chickens interest goes, the Stevenes rekindled that gardening interest bigtime. (By the way, what IS happening with those chickens--of which my husband said no, I can't have any--but I am interested anyway?)
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I had been growing things at my parents' city house since I was about ten and continued when we bought our own house years ago. But about two years ago we started our veggies and annual flowers in raised ground beds--this year for the first time we put seedlings in in early May.
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We used two layers of styrofoam building insulation sheets simply because we had them, and bought cinder blocks to prop the styrofoam up. So far, in two winters, the styrofoam planter boxes came through winter just fine and are looking good for a few more years.
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There have been frost warnings the past couple days, so, for now, we have our veggies and annual flowers covered gently with lightweight old sheers proped up so as not to crush them.
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In past years, I saved waxed milk cartons minus their bottoms and I put one carton over each started seedling with the carton tops open enough to let the rain and hose water in. This got them growing minus frost damage well into June.
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I think it is too late to start from seeds now. Seeds have to be started indoors in a sunny spot at least April 1st and then they can't stretch to the sun. We buy started seedling--still a bargain price for the large amount of produce yielded.
The safest planting time for NO more frost but allowing plenty of growing time for crops before the Fall frost starts is during the Memorial Weekend--there seldom is frost after that.
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Rememer to check for the number of days growing time for each different kind of veggie seedling. A ninety-days time slot is good--it means most of the harvesting should be over when the end-of-season frost time arrives again.
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When growing fruit-bearing trees, either the full growth size or dwarfs, remember that buying just one tree might not cause proper pollination and might cause weak, sparce fruit if there are none of the same kind of trees in the area. When buying fruit-bearing trees, be sure to ask about this at reputable grower--the tags on the trees should tell you all that you need to know. A fruit-bearing tree is an investment--so please invest wisely.
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After all, when was the last time you knew of fruit-bearing trees growning withing the city limits or even near each other in the suburbs? It takes two, babe. If you do plant just one and nothing much happens--meaning there isn't another around, then next season plant another.
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Ask about how much birds love cherries and how much squirrels like all fruit!
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Dwarf fruit trees produce just as much fruit as the really tall, full-sized ones and the Dwarfs are much easier to care for, keep the birds and squirrels off by covering them lightly, and, Dwarfs take up much less heigth and width space. (And for some reason they are very difficult to find at garden centers this year.)
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Remember the last time you ever saw a fruit-bearing tree within the city limits or even in the suburbs! It take two, babe. If you plant just one and nothing much happens, next year buy it a buddy.

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telstart

May 18, 2009 9:51 PM

Is this what they did with the $100,000.00?

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telstart

May 18, 2009 9:53 PM

oh the submit button hit before I finished. The greenhouse is nice and the idea that people can't get good food from convenence markets is dead on. I just can't figure out how a greenhouse like that cost them $100,000.00. Maybe they bought more land for the gardens?

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Crisa

May 19, 2009 10:07 AM

Another thing about fruit trees: If the label reads FLOWERING apple, pear, etc.--it will only produce the FLOWERS of apples, pears, etc., but NOT the FRUIT.
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As these sort of "farming" initiatives grow, (which is great and will apparently keep happening), it will be interesting to learn how much the hard-working youngsters actually know.
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I've asked questions in the garden centers of such places as *Home Depot and Wal Mart. I was asking questions of youngsters with myself turning out to be the teacher! Of course, in order for retail stores to stay low-priced, they won't hire pros.
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Years ago, one such retail store (might have been the first Home Depot stores in WNY) had a garden section with an enormous agribook set up on a pedestal that the employees and customers could search through.
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Today, if there is not even one professional grower employed at a store, finding crucial information can be found by setting up a computer connection to an online agri site. But, of course, that costs too so good luck about growing anything from a retail store.
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One more thing. If you buy ($25) a growing thing with a tag that only gives the name of the plant minus any other information--(*Hybrid Fuschia)--and *ALL that the tag reads is that it is (*grown in Canada)--and *the store personnel don't know a thing--and *you want it to grow outside--*DON'T BUY IT! Although it can tolerate a mild frost; it can't tolerate our winters and you will have to learn how nasty it is to take care of indoors until there is no more danger of frost...

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